2/20/2019

he Purple Bulldogs were missing four starters and had only eight varsity players suited up Tuesday night at War Eagle Arena, but they came up with a big fourth quarter to earn the win and a share of the 6A-West Conference title.
Anton Micha's 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer game Fayetteville (20-5, 11-2 6A-West) the lead for good and started a 13-0 Purple'Dogs run that gave them control of the game.
Fayetteville clinched the No. 1 seed from the 6A-West and at least a share of the conference title with the win.
Heritage (10-15, 5-8) looked to have momentum when Logan Clines got a steal and layup for a 26-26 tie with less than 30 seconds left in the third quarter. But Michna hit from the corner for the 29-26 lead to give Fayetteville the momentum heading into the fourth quarter.
Alex Kinsey picked right up with a driving layup and a 3-pointer and fellow senior Darius Bowers followed suit with 11 straight points to put the game away.
Fayetteville coach Kyle Adams couldn't have been more pleased with the way his team responded.
"I was just proud of our defense for four quarters," Adams said. "Those kids responded the way I hoped they would. And not just them, I was impressed with our kids behind the bench that normally play that weren't in the ballgame. They were engaged from the get-go.
"I thought Alex Kinsey, he's coming off an ACL tear. Not even the points, just the leadership He worked his tail off to get back to where he could even get dressed and participate and then he steps up and makes some big shots for us, especially early. Then Darius late in the game making free throws."
Kinsey finished with a game-high 19 points, while Bowers added 13 and Michna 11 for Fayetteville. Ernie Rodriguez and Clines led Heritage with nine points each.
Fayetteville^8^12^9^21^--^50
Heritage^5^12^9^8^--^34
Fayetteville (20-5, 11-2): Kinsey 19, Bowers 13, Michna 11.Blake 2, Wright 2, Barnett 2, Smith 1.
Rogers Heritage (10-15, 5-8): Rodriguez 9, Clines 9, Ingram 8, Kimball 6, Furuseth 2....

2/20/2019

The Battle of the Bulldogs can usually spark the emotions of both Fayetteville and Springdale High, and Friday night was no exception.
With under 15 seconds left in a tight game, an intentional foul under the Fayetteville goal brought players and fans onto the court in a scene that could have gotten violent. After a lot of pushing and shoving and multiple ejections, Springdale claimed a 50-46 win in 6A-West boys basketball action in Bulldog Gym.
Springdale led 49-46 with 12.3 seconds left when Fayetteville missed a shot. In the battle for the rebound, Fayetteville junior Austin Garrett was charged with an intentional foul and was ejected after Springdale's Tavari Eckwood was slung to the floor.
The play brought players off both benches and fans onto the court. It took more than 5 minutes for order to be restored and for officials to sort out ejections for players who entered the court. Springdale was able to hold on at the end giving coach Jeremy Price, who played in quite a few of these rivalry games, perhaps his biggest win as the Red'Dogs' coach.
"I'm proud of my kids to get this win, but I hate what transpired late," Price said. "Nobody wants to see that. It hurts the game. But I'm proud of my kids to night for winning this game."
Fayetteville coach Kyle Adams, also a veteran of the rivalry as a longtime coach, said he was disappointed in how the game ended.
"I thought both teams competed their tails off," Adams said. "It was very edgy at the end. Unfortunately it busted out in a melee. The bottom line is, that's not how we act, and that's not who we are. We got caught up in the moment. That's unfortunate for us and the basketball team. But that all falls on me. They want to protect their teammates, and I get that, but that falls on me; it doesn't fall on them."
Until the late-game fireworks marred the finish, Springdale (11-12, 5-7 6A-West) was the team that was in control. The Red'Dogs built an early 10-point lead and, despite missing a number of free throws, held the upper hand for most of the game. Springdale did not make a field goal in the fourth quarter and was 13 of 23 at the line, which enabled Fayetteville (19-5, 10-2) to come roaring back.
Fayetteville sophomore post Tamaury Releford led the late charge, scoring 17 of his 21 points in the second half. Releford's inside bucket with 2 minutes, 23 seconds left in the game pulled the Purple'Dogs within 40-38.
One of the biggest plays of the game did not result in points, but Springdale's Chops Sanders was able to tip a rebound back to a teammate with 1:31 left and Jujuan Boyd was fouled. His two free throws gave Springdale a 42-38 lead, which proved to be huge.
"Chops made hustle plays all night long," Price said. "He's been a leader for us. A lot of 50-50 balls he's able to get his hands on. He's able to keep things alive, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds. He's really been a major spark plug for our team."
Vincent Mason led Springdale with 19 points and Boyd finished with 13.
Neither coach knew how the multiple-player ejections would affect their teams for next week's games. Both said the would likely have to review film to see what players went onto the court. The five players for each team that were on the court when the benches cleared won't face a suspension.
Fayetteville 4 11 13 18 -- 46
Springdale 12 11 14 13 -- 50...

2/14/2019

Bentonville High took control at the outset and defeated Fayetteville 50-44 Tuesday in a showdown of the 6A-West Conference leaders at Bulldog Arena.
Bentonville (21-3, 10-1) moved into first place while Fayetteville (16-4, 9-2) dropped a game back in the standings after its second consecutive defeat.
Tuesday's game was a rematch from Jan. 16, when Coriah Beck made a basket with 1.9 seconds left to give Fayetteville a 41-40 victory. But Bentonville gained the lead late in the first quarter and held on despite making only a single basket in the fourth quarter.
The Lady Tigers compensated by making 14 of 19 free throws, including 9 of 12 in the final 53 seconds.
"Even when we were up five or six points with 20 seconds left, I never felt comfortable," Bentonville coach Tom Halbmaier said. "The girls played really well tonight. This is a great road win and I couldn't be more proud of them."
Emily Sanders and Avery Hughes scored 12 points each to lead the Lady Tigers, who were eager for another chance at Fayetteville after losing by a point at home.
"Coming off that game, we all had the spark and our attitude was like 'next time we got it,'" said Sanders, who scored eight points in the first half. "We picked each other up and gave each other encouraging words."
Bentonville led 25-18 at halftime before Fayetteville began to pick up the pace behind Sasha Goforth, who scored 10 of her 14 points in the second half. Fayetteville got to within 36-34 after an aggressive move and a scoop shot by Goforth. But Bentonville kept the lead following a basket from Natalie Smith and free throws by Hughes and Sanders.
Two calls hurt Fayetteville in the fourth quarter. The first came when the officials huddled and reversed a call after initially ruling the ball out of bounds to Fayetteville. Seconds later, Fayetteville was assessed a technical foul after a player entered the game illegally without checking in at the scorer's table. Bentonville increased its lead to five points after two more free throws by Sanders, who finished 4 of 5 from the line and made both of her 3-point attempts.
Fayetteville, which lost 59-53 at Van Buren last Friday, struggled to get much going except for Goforth and sophomore Claudia Bridges, who finished with 14 points.
Smith and Bella Irlenborn each contributed eight points for Bentonville.
Bentonville^16^9^11^14-- ^50
Fayetteville^12^6^12^14--^44
.
Bentonville (21-3, 10-1): Hughes 12, Sanders 12, Smith 8, Irlenborn 8, Dauda 7, Hayes 3
Fayetteville (16-4, 9-2): Goforth 14, Bridges 14, Beck 7, Byars 7, Saitta 2....

2/13/2019

Fayetteville's opportunity to clinch the 6A-West Conference's top boys seed will have to wait a little while longer.
Bentonville kept its hopes alive Tuesday night as Michael Shanks scored eight of his 13 points in the fourth quarter and helped the Tigers claim a 56-49 victory in Bulldog Arena.
"I'm just proud of our guys," Bentonville coach Dick Rippee said. "They showed a lot of resiliency. We were missing a starter and best defender in Sawyer Price, and others stepped in. Shanks isn't 100 percent, but he played much better and gaining confidence as we go.
"I just thought we were solid. It was a great team effort."
Bentonville (19-5, 9-2) had a 38-26 lead after Connor Deffebaugh's three-point play with 5 minutes, 7 seconds left in the third quarter before Fayetteville stormed back with an 11-0 run. Darius Bowers then gave the Purple'Dogs their first lead since the first quarter when his three-point play made it 45-44 with 5:24 remaining.
Shanks hit two free throws to put the Tigers back in front, only to have Bowers score and force another lead change. Shanks, who missed two games and only played limited minutes in Bentonville's loss Friday against Rogers Heritage, then hit back-to-back buckets in a 20-second span to put the Tigers ahead to stay.
"The knee is sore and hurting right now," Shanks said. "But it feels great after that big win we got. Just finishing the game is what we've been taught, and we finished."
Fayetteville did make it a 50-49 game on Connor Barnett's bucket with 1:25 left and had a chance to take the lead, but Barnett couldn't get a 3-pointer to fall. Bentonville then sealed the win with six free throws -- two each by Deffebaugh, Brayden Freeman and Thane Spencer -- in the final 60 seconds. Spencer, a sophomore who filled in for starter Sawyer Price, also had two critical steals in the final minute.
The Bulldogs, despite their loss, remain one game ahead of the Tigers in the league standings with three games remaining and have the tiebreaker advantage over Bentonville.
"I think we were so bad in the first half, and it was hard to fight out of that hole," Fayetteville coach Kyle Adams said. "In the second half, I was pleased with how hard we played. We did some things that made us more effective on the offensive end. For us, offense turns into bad defense when we take bad shots.
"It's not about losing ball games. We've lost ball games before. It's about how we performed, and I don't think we performed very well. We're just trying to build and get better going into the state tournament. For some reason, we didn't play, and that one's on me."
Freeman led Bentonville with 14 and Deffenbaugh finished with 10. Tamaury Releford had 15 to lead Fayetteville, while Collin Cooper chipped in 11.
Bentonville^20^7^13^16^--^56
Fayetteville^12^8^17^12^--^49
Bentonville (19-5, 9-2): Freeman 14, Shanks 13, Deffebaugh 10, Spencer 9, Simmons 8, Pankau 2.
Fayetteville (19-4, 10-1): T. Releford 15, Cooper 11, I. Releford 9, Bowers 9, Garrett 5....